Storm's Story
by dark-angel-yuna
Summary: Ash's older sister has to live in his shadow. Everyone has heard Ash's story. But no one's heard Storm's. Most people don't know what she is. This is her story . . . *chapter 2 up! Storm bonds with Charmander and meets a stranger*
1. The Journey Begins

Author's Note: Heya all! It DAY, your author here! This is my first pokémon fic, so cut me a little slack if it's not so good, okay? This is really based more off the anime, but there wasn't a section in anime, at least, not what I saw . . . newayz, I bet y'all wanna get down to business and read my story, right? *no answer* okay then. Uh . . . have fun reading . . .?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ash, Ash's Mom, Gary or Professor Oak, or any pokémon. Storm is mine . . . and maybe a couple new gym leaders or something, but not much. Ask if you want to borrow, okay? But it should be fine. Just ask . . .  
  
Newayz, here we go . . .  
  
Prologue  
  
Do you know how hard it is to have a famous little brother? I mean, as soon as people find out my last name's Ketchum, the first thing they say is, 'Oh, are you related to Ash Ketchum?' Of course, I suppose people had never heard of Ash before he made his way through Kanto and Orange Islands. But sometimes I envy him. Other times, I'm glad I'm me, and I do what I do. Some people say that I could never beat Ash . . . well . . . that's not true . . . Most people don't know what I am . . .  
  
Storm's Story  
  
Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins  
  
"Hey, Ash!" I remember calling to my little brother one day. "Guess what it is in a week's time?"  
  
Ash, in his typical eight-year-old way, didn't answer me straight away. "What, Storm? Is there going to be food?"  
  
Trust Ash to think of food at a time like this. I was trying to tell him something important! "Yes, there's gonna be food, stupid! How can you forget my birthday?"  
  
"Oh yeah! I remember now! You told me yesterday."  
  
"And the day before, and the day before! But you always forget! You wanna know why my birthday is extra special this year?"  
  
"Um . . . why? Do you get an extra big cake?"  
  
I was getting exasperated. All I wanted to do was take his little head full of black hair, and pound it against the wall. Then maybe he would get some sense knocked into him.  
  
"No, idiot. It's my tenth birthday!" I called out triumphantly. Surely he had to know what I was talking about now.  
  
"Oh," Ash replied uncertainly. I flipped my long sandy brown braid over my shoulder and glared at him with my intensely green eyes. He still didn't know what I was talking about.  
  
"How can you be so clueless? I'm going to get a pokémon." I made sure to speak nice and slowly. Then maybe he would get it through his thick skull.  
  
"Oh!" He finally got it. "Which one are you going to get?"  
  
"I don't know yet . . . Squirtle's the cutest, but Bulbasaur would be the strongest, I think."  
  
"Here's a tip, o braided one." Gary had walked up behind me and Ash, and we both jumped. Neither one of us had heard him coming. "Don't get a pokémon that you don't like. When you're up there, you'll know what the right choice is."  
  
"And how do you know?" I retorted. Gary wanted something. He wasn't often nice to me for no reason.  
  
"Gramps said. And you know Gramps is the expert." Of course I did. I wasn't stupid. Professor Oak was the leading authority on pokémon.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
I spent the days leading up to my birthday in tense anticipation. I thought about what Gary had told me. He was right, even though I didn't like to admit it. If I didn't like the pokémon I chose, then there was no way I could work with it. I had already decided to love my pokémon, not put them through harsh punishments or training they were doomed to failure in. My pokémon would be my life.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
"Storm, honey, it's time to get up," Mom called through the door of my room on my 10th birthday. She had no way of knowing that I had already been up a full hour, dressed and ready to go.  
  
I ate my breakfast quickly, without so much as a single word to Mom or Ash. As I finished my cereal, I sat in silence and stared at my empty bowl.  
  
(Today's the day!) I thought nervously. (I'm going to get my very first pokémon today!)  
  
I glanced at the clock. Even though I wasn't expected to meet Professor Oak for another half an hour, I couldn't sit still any longer.  
  
"See you later, Mom!" And I ran out the door. Into the last person on earth I expected to be standing there.  
  
"Gary? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just making sure you don't forget. Don't sound so grateful. Oh, happy birthday, by the way." Then he did something I'd never seen him do before. He smiled at me.  
  
(Wow, he looks so much different when he's smiling. He should do it more often . . .)  
  
He'd never smiled at me before. Whenever he was out playing with Ash, when they were still good friends, he would always glare at me with some comment like, 'This is a boy's game. Go away!' or something of the sort. He never gave me a chance. Until now, I guess.  
  
So Gary escorted me, or walked beside me, whichever way you want to think of it, to his grandfather's house. I knew already that this day was a turning point in my life. I knew that this day would be important. I just didn't know how important.  
  
"Heya, Gramps! Guess who I brought," Gary yelled in a voice that was sure to carry throughout the whole house. I suppose that was the point.  
  
Professor Oak bustled out from where he was working in a back room. "Ah, hello Storm. A little early, I see. Nervous?"  
  
All I could do was nod. I didn't exactly trust my voice.  
  
"I see. Seeing as you're the only one with your birthday about now, I guess you can go ahead and pick now. They're right through there." He pointed back towards the room he had just come from.  
  
I walked through the doorway to see three pokéballs on a stand. Where were the pokémon? I thought we got to see them, and choose for ourselves.  
  
"Uh, Professor? Can I see the pokémon? I'm not exactly sure which one I want yet."  
  
"Of course. It's important to have a pokémon that suits you. Gary, if you please."  
  
I didn't know what Professor Oak wanted Gary to do, but it appeared that Gary did. He walked over to the stand and pressed a little button in the front of the balls, and after he did, each one opened, and a pokémon came out.  
  
The first thing Squirtle did was run up to Bulbasaur and butt it with his head.  
  
"Bulba! Bulba, Bulbasaur!" it called in protest. But Squirtle kept at it. I didn't really like it much, a pokémon that didn't know when to stop . . .  
  
The one that caught my eye, though, was the Charmander. It just stood there, ignoring the other two fighting, and looked at me. It cocked its head to one side.  
  
"Char?"  
  
I laughed and squatted down so I could be closer to its level. "Come here, little Charmander. I won't hurt you, I promise." I was surprised when the Charmander waddled closer towards me. It held out its arms to me.  
  
"Charmander, Char, Char!"  
  
I picked the adorable thing up and held it close to me, making sure its fiery tail was away from my clothes. It was nice and warm. Probably due to its fire type.  
  
"You want the Charmander, then?" Professor Oak's voice brought me back to reality. I nodded emphatically, and he walked over to the stand, picked off a pokéball and handed it to me.  
  
"Charmander is now your pokémon. Train well. And don't forget, pokémon are your friends as well as your battle partners. Good luck, Storm." With that statement, the pokémon Professor led me to the door. I was still holding onto Charmander as if it was my lifeline.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
Some people thought I was crazy for choosing Charmander like that. I heard Gary say so as I walked out the door. 'She's crazy! That Charmander was a puny, weak little sod. I would have chosen the Squirtle.' I think Mom was a little apprehensive about me getting the Charmander too. 'Just make sure it doesn't set anything on fire, honey.' Ash just wanted to steal my Charmander away. 'Aw, such a cute little thing. Here, let me hold it.' When I refused, Ash tried to grab Charmander from my hands. And nearly got his fingers bit off. As I'm telling this to you now, I'm laughing my head off remembering the look on his face. 'Are you sure you want such a vicious little thing?' I just laughed as he ran away calling for Mom.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
"Charmander, are you a boy or a girl?" Charmander cocked its head and looked at me kind of funny. Maybe it didn't understand the question.  
  
"Char?" I listened carefully to its voice. It sounded kind of like Ash's voice. It was high, but like a boyish high, not like a girl. If you get what I mean.  
  
"So, you're a boy, then? Well, you're going to have to turn around." I was in my room, about to change into the clothes that Mom had bought me to travel in.  
  
"Char? Char, Charmander, Char?" I guess he didn't understand what I was saying. But I didn't want a guy in the room while I was changing. I begged him to turn around, but he still wouldn't, so I had no choice but to put him in his pokéball.  
  
When I was changed into my traveling clothes, just a simple loose skirt and flowery T-shirt, I braided my hair and put on my silver wire-rim glasses. I attached Charmander's pokéball to my belt.  
  
I was ready to go. I was now a pokémon trainer.  
  
I said good-bye to Mom and Ash and assured them that I would keep in touch. Then I headed out the door. Guess who was waiting outside, yet again? None other than Gary. I fleetingly wondered why he was here, again, but I didn't have to wait long for the answer. He walked alongside me as I left the house.  
  
"Nicely done, genius. You were in such a hurry to go and adore your Charmander that you totally forgot your Pokédex. It's a good thing Gramps looks after you so well." He handed me what looked like a little red calculator, you know, the ones that you have to take out of the case. I flipped it open and saw a screen that took up about half of the area and a variety of buttons. I heard Gary's chuckle beside me. "If it was up to me, I would have left you and seen how long it was before you realized you forgot it and came running back."  
  
"Gary! That's so mean!" And all he did was laugh. He really was a mean little boy. But still, he walked me to the edge of Pallet Town, and when I reached the road at the end, he almost looked concerned.  
  
"Be careful, Storm. It's dangerous. Come back, okay?"  
  
I smiled at him. I couldn't help it. Worry was a new look for Gary. It didn't suit him. "Of course I'll come back. I'm only 10, after all. Don't worry. I have Charmander to look after me." Then I turned on my heel and left. Gary shouted something after me, but I didn't hear what he said.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
I never found out what he said. Still to this day I don't know. But then again, I'm not 100% sure I want to know. Knowing Gary, it could have been any number of insults. But then again, he had just been nice to me, for some unknown reason, so it might have been nice.  
  
Anyway, that was how my adventure began. With a Charmander and some oversized dreams. I had no idea that some of my dreams would actually come true . . .  
  
Author's Note: What do you think? Drop by and review! Tell me exactly what you think so far. I have in my head the basic plot until Storm is 19. Please review! Constructive criticism is good, compliments are good, and if you're gonna flame me, at least give a reason why, okay? Well, bye bye!  
  
I know my italicized stuff isn't working and I don't know really how to do it. If you guys know how to do that, please tell me cuz it's driving me INSANE! Not that I'm sane the way it is . . .  
  
[edit] thanx for pointing out the clothes thing, omi. I changed it later, apparently after I posted this . . . whoops! 


	2. Firestorm

Author's Note: YAY! Reviews! So here's chapter two! Oh, and just so you know, These first couple years will go by pretty quickly, and what I think I'm going to do is make this a short little story about Storm's life before a certain turning point, then have sequels telling of her later adventures etc, yada and so forth. And Storm's a bit of a pansy in this chapter, so just live with it, okey?  
  
Oh, and about the clothes thing, yes, that was kinda a mistake on my part. When I think of Storm, I think of the 19 year old that she'll become, and I accidentally forgot that she was only 10 in that last chapter. You might wanna take a look again at what I changed her into, definitely more like a 10 year old . . . And she's Ash's older sister, by two years, k. That becomes important later, just so ya have that straight.  
  
Newayz, on with chapter two!  
Chapter 2 - Firestorm  
Veridian City . . . Still the name rings in my mind. As a 10 year old, with my first pokémon, I though Veridian was the place to be. It had the nearest gym, where I thought that I was sure to win. Yeah, right. I was still just 10, and I didn't realize how hard the life of a pokémon trainer could be. I don't think Ash or Gary, when they got their first pokémon two years later, realized it either. We all had our dreams of glory and grandeur. That we would win the Indigo Plateau tournament the first time we entered. That we would beat the Elite 4 and be named the Champion. But back then, we didn't realize how much hard work had to be put into training pokémon. And ourselves.  
  
The time it took me to get from Pallet Town to Veridian City definitely wasn't the most exciting time in my life with pokémon, but it shaped what was to be the future between me and Charmander.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
I had never been outside of Pallet Town in my life. Professor Oak's house was on the outskirts, but that didn't count. Now I was on my own, out somewhere I had never been before with only my Charmander beside me. But I didn't care. Now I was free. I was a pokémon trainer.  
  
I ran out into the grass, not caring if I ran into a pokémon. Charmander would protect me. I wasn't worried about getting lost either. I wouldn't get lost. Veridian wasn't too far away, was it? It was like that song from Pocahontas: 'Just Around the River Bend.' I though I would turn a corner, and there would be Veridian, right?  
  
Wrong.  
  
Some of the grass was cut down into a nice little path, probably by some pokémon. But some of it was over my head. I wasn't really all that tall for my age, even though I didn't know it then. I thought I was tall because I had always been taller than Ash and Gary, but then again, they were younger than me. It was in that long grass that I began to lose my way.  
  
"C'mon Charmander! Let's go!" I didn't know if Charmander could hear me inside his pokéball, but I talked to him anyway. It made me feel less alone.  
  
I didn't want to walk on the path, because when I was on the path, I could see kids playing, and I felt a pang for Ash and Gary, even though I had only been gone less than a day.  
  
I could see two people battling their pokémon. They were two pokémon that I had never seen before. One was blue and had a little swirly thing on its tummy. It didn't have any arms either. I found out later that that was a Poliwag. The pokémon it was fighting seemed a little scary to me. It almost looked like a little ball of white fluff with a pig snout and a tail. I cringed as it screeched out its high-pitched call: "Maaaaaankeeeeeeey!"  
  
Scared, I ran into the grass. (I wonder what those pokémon were. Maybe I have a little more to learn about pokémon, I guess.) That was when I first started to realize that pokémon training wouldn't be such a walk in the park.  
  
I walked back in the direction that I had come from when I heard the sounds of battle fade away. At least, I thought it was the direction I had come from. But when I had walked for a few minutes, and still hadn't come back out of the grass, I began to get worried. (Did I really run this far away? I don't remember coming this far.)  
  
I must have traveled for a while in the grass, because above my head, I could see the changing colors of the sky as the sun set. My heart started to beat faster as I realized that I had no idea where I was, and no way to go anywhere. I would be caught out at night.  
  
My legs hurt, and my feet hurt, and I didn't know where I was. So I stopped, sat down, and started crying.  
  
I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember is being in total darkness. I heard a strange rustling noise, and something hooted like an owl. I muffled a shriek and ran. I don't know in which direction I ran, but all I wanted to do was to get out of the grass and away from the noise.  
  
When a Rattata jumped out of the grass at me, I couldn't help but scream. Gary had always told me that if I left Rattatas alone, they would leave me alone, but this one didn't seem to want to. It had this really mean look on its face, and it didn't look like it was going to go away. I rushed at me to attack me, and I screamed again and covered my face with my hands, waiting to feel sharp little Rattata teeth sink into my skin.  
  
Just then, a flash of light came from my belt, and I heard a familiar and reassuring voice. "Charmander!"  
  
In the dark of night, I had forgotten that I had a pokémon at all. When my Charmander came out of its ball and lit up the night with its flame, it was almost if the night had gone away. But the Rattata was still there. Without even glancing at me, Charmander opened its mouth, and fire sprayed everywhere. Most of it hit the Rattata. Rattata squeaked and ran off through the grass.  
  
Charmander walked over to me and hugged me. "Char. Charmander, Char." I closed my eyes and scooped up Charmander in a tight embrace.  
  
My eyes flicked open again as I smelled something burning. I looked around to see that that the Embers that had missed Rattata had caught the grass on fire, and the grassland around me was quickly going up in flames!  
  
I had no idea what to do. I had been told what to do when my house had caught on fire: 'Stop, drop and roll.' 'Crawl on the ground and out as fast as you can!' But this was so much different than a house fire . . .  
  
"Staryu! Water Gun attack!" Someone called to their pokémon. It was a man's voice I had never heard before. I heard hissing as the fire went out all around me. I looked up to see a young man, about 25, standing over me with his Staryu, a starfish that was a yellowish color with a round glowing gem in its center, next to him. He was tall, and had brown hair, like Gary, except longer. It was down just past his shoulders, and he wore it tied back behind his neck. He had really deep blue eyes, though, like sapphires. He was wearing a simple outfit of blue jeans and a green T- shirt.  
  
He knelt down next to me and spoke to me softly. "Hi. My name's Ricky. Will you tell me yours?"  
  
Mom had told me not to speak to strangers, but Ricky was so nice that I couldn't help but speak to him. Would a bad man have tried to rescue me from the fire? "My name's Storm. Storm Ketchum."  
  
"Storm. That's a nice name. Much prettier than Ricky." I laughed at the way he made it sound like he wanted a different name. "You're not much older than 10, are you?"  
  
I shook my head, not quite trusting Ricky enough to tell him that my birthday was, in fact, today.  
  
"Well, you haven't had you Charmander very long then. He's really cute, you know. But you need to learn how to control him. I can tell already that he's very strong, if he caused that fire by just a single Ember attack." He looked at me hugging Charmander close. "See, look how much he loves you. You guys are going to be a great team some day." He stopped for a moment, and seemed to be thinking. "Tell you what. Why don't you come to my house. My younger sister's about your age. Even though she doesn't want to be a pokémon trainer like us, she'd be glad of a little friend her own age. And I can help you train your Charmander. What about that?"  
  
I didn't know exactly what Ricky was asking me. (Why does he want me to come? Am I just going to spend the night? How long am I going to stay?) The thought never crossed my mind not to go. After all, it was cold and dark outside, and I had nowhere else to go.  
  
So when he held out his hand to me, I took it, following him blindly wherever he would lead me.  
  
/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/  
  
And so began a new chapter in my life with pokémon. I had barely had time to get to know my Charmander, and here was a young man who was willing to teach a naïve little girl the ways of pokémon.  
  
He did end up taking me back to his house, which was not too far from Veridian. He did end up having a sister my age, but what I noticed immediately was the fact that there was no Mom or Dad in the house. It was only him and his sister. I never did find out what happened to their parents. I was young enough that I didn't really care back then.  
  
But going with Ricky, foolish little girl I was back then, changed my life in more ones than one, and it was the beginning of my remarkable journey with pokémon.  
  
Author's Note: She really is a stupid young girl, isn't she. Running off with a stranger like that! For all she knew, he could have been one of those sadistic psychos that rape and kill little girls! Stupid, stupid little girlie. Newayz, I'm still looking for hints on how to italicize things, so if any of you know, or could find out . . . please tell me! Newayz, must go. I'll see ya'll later. Have a nice day! And don't forget to review on your way out. Any speculations of what will happen in Storm's life are welcomed! 


End file.
